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Book #3 – UnMarketing

I’d been following Scott Stratten on Twitter for some time and had always wanted to read his book, Unmarketing. When I found out he was going to do a talk at Ryerson, I knew the time had come. After reading it, I wondered what took me so long? All I can say is that I’m making up for it now. Every client that I meet that doesn’t get it, I tell them to read this book.

The main theme that I took with me (obviously, other than the subtitle: “Stop Marketing, Start Engaging”) is that traditional marketing isn’t going to cut it anymore. People want more transparency in their lives. You can’t fool them anymore, so just be honest! Talk to your clients and fellow human beings. Most of the time, they talk back.

I have been following many of the practices he discusses in the book, but didn’t have any good stories to go along with why I was doing what I was doing. Scott gives great examples and stories in bite-sized chapters which makes it very easy to flow through it and feel like you’ve accomplished something.

One of my favourite chapters is #35: Transparency and Authenticity. There are a number of consultants out there that that will tell you it’s all about the numbers: Number of followers, number of likes, etc. Though these are a good measure in most cases, it isn’t everything. It’s more important to do a few tweets that are worthwhile and engaging, rather than just broadcasting your blog/website to the world.

I run a small consulting business that helps small to medium businesses not just create a web presence, but also learn how to navigate social media. I spoke with a new client yesterday who wants to learn how this all works. I said since we weren’t meeting for a few days, he had some time to do some reading. I told him to get this book. And so should you.

His next book is coming out very soon, so make sure you get this one as well as the next. Follow Scott on Twitter @unmarketing. I’ll talk about his talk at Ryerson very soon.